Military helicopter

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Military helicopters are helicopters that are used in military aviation . They differ from civilian models in terms of their equipment or their special construction, and they often have on- board weapons , armor and special avionics . They can be used in all branches of the armed forces , in some armed forces also in the marine infantry .

Military models

Models currently used worldwide are:

Attack helicopter

Transport helicopter

Multipurpose helicopter

Mission history

Second World War

Side view of a model of the "Kolibri"

In World War II military helicopters were used for the first time. In Germany, the two developers Henrich Focke and Gerd Achgelis designed a functional helicopter with a load capacity of 700 kg. They received an order for 100 pieces, but by the end of the war only 20 had been completed and just under 10 had even flown.

Anton Flettner's development worked significantly better . He developed a helicopter with two rotors that lay side by side and meshed together - the Flettner double rotor . From this principle, the types Fl 265 and 282, a reconnaissance helicopter, which was called "Kolibri", but was also only used and manufactured to a small extent. The building principle was continued by Fletter after the war. Helicopters of the German Air Force in World War II were:

On the American side, a helicopter appeared in combat for the first time in 1944, the Sikorsky R-4 .

Vietnam War

Helicopter operation in Vietnam 1966.

In the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1975, military helicopters first formed a fundamental element of war tactics. They were used on the American side to support the ground forces , as this was the only way soldiers could be dropped off and picked up in the confusing jungle areas or behind enemy lines.

The main patterns in the Vietnam War were:

Afghan war

Soviet Mil Mi-24

In the Afghan war between 1979 and 1989, helicopters were often used on the Soviet side to transport troops, to supply outposts and to fight the opposing mujahedin in rough terrain. Mainly Mi-8 multi-purpose helicopters were used for this, and later mainly attack helicopters of the Mi-24 type were used for combat tasks.

From 1985 onwards, the USA supplied the insurgents with targeted FIM-92 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, which caused considerable problems on the Soviet side - a total of 333 helicopter losses were counted up to the withdrawal.

Gulf Wars and Iraq War

In the First and Second Gulf War and the Iraq War Military helicopters were also on the parties to the conflict used in the second, lost US forces 15 helicopters, at least 33. Most went but without external influence lost in the Iraq war until 2006, since you here through sandstorms with problems had the drive.

On the American side, the Sikorsky UH-60 (transport helicopter) and Hughes AH-64 (attack helicopter) were used, while the United States Marine Corps also used the Bell AH-1 , as well as the older Bell UH-1 .

The bombardment from the cover of the cities by heavy machine guns and shoulder-mounted surface-to-air missiles of the type 9K32 Strela-2 and related models is increasingly affecting the helicopters; In early 2007 it was reported that Iraqi fighters used targeted tactics to first shoot down the helicopters and then attack the rescue workers.

Manufacturer

Important manufacturers are the European Eurocopter Group , the American Bell and Sikorsky and the Russian Mil and Kamow .

literature

In the media

The movie Black Hawk Down from 2001 staged the shooting down of a Sikorsky UH-60 and the attempted rescue of the crew in the Battle of Mogadishu on October 3, 1993 in Somalia in lavish scenes . Director was Ridley Scott , the film received two Academy Awards.

Military helicopters continue to play a central role in a number of ( flight simulation ) computer games , for example in the Comanche series.

See also

Web links

Commons : Military Helicopters  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Military helicopter  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Kuperman, Alan (Summer 1999). The Stinger Missile and US Intervention in Afghanistan . Political Science Quarterly: 219-263.
  2. ^ Viktor Markowskij: Hot skies over Afghanistan. Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2006, ISBN 3-933395-89-5 , p. 128.